1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for annotating indexed data files with text, graphics, and audio without modifying the original indexed data; and more particularly to systems for annotating full motion digital video.
2. Description of Related Art
The development of high quality "multimedia content" typically involves participation of a number of artists who may be geographically dispersed, or may have separate work stations at which their contribution to the multimedia product may be added. Typically, such content is stored in indexed data structures, such as video frames, which are indexed by a frame number. Data linked to particular video frames, such as sound and related text, are keyed to this indexing structure.
Multimedia content is often complex, drawing on a number of sources of information, and containing large amounts of data which is expensive to transport and share among developers. Thus, changing data in a vast file of indexed data structures, such as a multimedia product, should be avoided. To alter the original product would lose the content of the original product. However, in order to send information about changes to another developer, at least the altered portion of the original product must be transported or some technique must be used to identify that altered portion. This can be done by taking snips of the entire product, altering it, and transferring the altered snip to the other developer for viewing, or by direct real time communication between the commenter and other developers to whom the comments are directed. Difficulties with these approaches are apparent. In particular, to make snips of altered multimedia content, involves developing data files which are taken out of the context of the original work and must be either delivered on tape to other developers, or transported across a network. Also, a snip of even one or two video frames in a multimedia product may involve megabytes of data. Because of the large size of these files, transporting such information across the network can be costly, and time consuming.
The difficulties of having real time interaction among developers are also apparent. That is, when a large number of developers are involved in a big project, it is simply physically impossible to have all the people who need access to proposed changes present at the time these changes are being developed.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an annotation tool that allows reductions in production time, more effective utilization of resources, and greater communication in general during creation of multimedia products or other large scale indexed data files.